NIH announces the availability of a Niche Assessment Program
for its SBIR/STTR Phase I awardees funded in fiscal years (FY) 2012 and 2013.
All active NIH SBIR/STTR Phase I awardees (by grant or contract) as well as
those small businesses selected to receive a Phase I award in the first three
months of the upcoming fiscal year will be eligible to participate. This
program can help “jump-start” a company’s commercialization efforts by
providing the market insight and data that can be used to strategically
position its technology in the marketplace, by assisting companies with their
development of commercialization plans for Phase II applications, and by
introducing small businesses to potential partners.

A third party, unbiased assessment of appropriate market
niches for products/services that are being developed by NIH’s SBIR/STTR Phase
I awardees will be performed by Foresight Science & Technology. Using its
Technology Niche Analysis® (TNA®), Foresight will perform the due diligence on
markets appropriate for each SBIR technology and develop an in-depth report for
each SBIR/STTR awardee that addresses:

(1) In the first step, Foresight will gather the pertinent information needed
from the SBIR/STTR awardee to identify feasible applications of the technology.
Often times, several non-obvious uses are found, and such secondary
applications may provide a path to market that is faster than the primary
biomedical use.

(2) In the second step, Foresight will analyze the selected use of the
technology to determine the end-user needs, current and emerging competing
technologies, market dynamics, socio-economic trends and market drivers, and to
quantify the market size and participant's possible share. This second step
determines the technology's current competitive advantages and how to improve
competitiveness.

(3) In the third step, Foresight will recommend a market entry strategy. This
strategy includes how to market the technology to end-users, how to obtain
outside partners, and also projects revenues for the technology. Likely lead
customers, testing centers, suppliers, manufacturers, and/or other relevant
organizations interested in participating in the downstream research as beta
testers or concurrent engineering advisors will be identified.

To validate the analyses and recommendations, Foresight will identify and
qualify companies or funding agencies that might be interested in becoming
commercialization partners. Follow-up communication with these potential
partners will be the responsibility of the small business.

The Niche Assessment Program is appropriate for all types of technologies,
e.g., those developing clinical products such as devices, drugs, biologics, and
therapeutics, as well as those developing software, educational, and
multi-media behavioral science products. The program is also appropriate for
those seeking strategic alliances, investors, and/or immediate customers.

One hundred twenty five (125) slots are available and will be filled on a
“first come, first served” basis. For those with multiple awards, only one
project per company will be accepted for the program. The average time to complete
a Technology Niche Analysis® is 2 to 3 months.
Since reports will be generated in the order the applications were received,
all 125 reports will be completed between November 2012 and early March 2013.
However, awardees may indicate a preference when they would like to receive the
TNA® report in the registration forms
below. NIH and Foresight will try to accommodate such preferences if
possible. The Technology Niche Analysis®
report may be helpful in the preparation of the commercialization plan that is
required in a SBIR/STTR Phase II application and, as such, applicants should
consider the timing of their Phase II submission. The amount of time a program
participant will need to expend is minimal (perhaps only a few hours) and
participation is free.